Positive and negative parts

When you add and subtract numbers, some parts can be positive or negative. Imagine you have an apple and you give it to your friend. You lose one apple, but your friend gains one. So for you, it's negative because you have less, but for your friend, it's positive because they have more. This is like when you subtract a number, you lose something, so it's negative. And when you add a number, you gain something, so it's positive.

Now let's talk about a number line, which is like a little map for numbers. Imagine you have a number line and zero is right in the middle. If you go to the right, the numbers get bigger and bigger. These are positive numbers because you are gaining something. If you go to the left, the numbers get smaller and smaller. These are negative numbers because you are losing something.

For example, if you start at zero and go five steps to the right, you land on the number 5. This is a positive number because you gained something. But if you start at zero and go five steps to the left, you land on the number -5. This is a negative number because you lost something.

In math, we use positive and negative numbers all the time to help us solve problems. We use them like directions on a map to figure out where we need to go. Just remember that positive means gaining something and negative means losing something!